I often heard about the Mongolian steak, especially here in North America, however, honestly speaking, never had one before. So, I decided to give it a try when I flipped through A Taste of Hawaii cookbook by Jean-Marie Josselin. After cooking with several of his recipes now, I know by heart this one gonna turned out fabulous and indeed it was. I like how he marries flavor together so ingeniously.
When you spread that honey + mustard seeds sauce on the chili-chive crepes and the steak was sandwiched in between, boy….it was one really awesome! This was also my very first time eating mustard seeds. I’ve had mustard before, but not the seeds. I was a bit nervous about it at first, but the mustard seeds blend in so well with everything else. You will have that tiny “stingy” sensation on your tongue from biting into the mustard seeds (almost like eating wasabi, but not near as “biting” and “pungent”), but then the sweetness of the honey and the savory of the crepes and steak just evens out everything nicely. We absolutely love this whole deal!!!!
Stir-fried Mongolian Steak with Chili Chives Crepes
Ingredients
Steak:
- 1 lb flank steak
- 1 cup light soy sauce
- ½ cup rice wine
- ½ cup hoisin sauce
- 3 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 tsp diced fresh red chili pepper
Vegetables
- ¼ cup peanut oil
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced fresh ginger
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 4-5 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked in water until plump)
- 1 cup shredded carrot
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup mustard seeds
Chili-chive crepes
- 6 eggs (beaten)
- Dash of salt
- 1 ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp chopped garlic chives
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups milk
- Oil or butter , for frying
Instructions
- Remove all visible fats from the steaks. Combine the remaining steak ingredients in bowl and mix well. Add the meat and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. When ready to prepare the dish, drain the steaks and cut into 1/4-inch strips. Set aside
- Heat a wok until very hot and add the peanut oil. When the oil is hot, add the flank steak and stir-fry until golden-brown on the outside and medium-rare in the center, about 2 minutes
- Add the garlic and ginger. Then add the rest of the vegetables, and stir-fry until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes
- In a small bowl, combine the honey and mustard seeds, set aside
Preparing chili-chive crepes
- In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, salt, chili power, garlic chives, and flour. Slowly incorporate the milk until you have a smooth batter. Seat the batter aside to rest for about 45 minutes
- Heat a small frying pan and coat it with oil or room-temperature butter. Pour a small amount of batter into the center of the skillet; with a rotating movement, turn the pan until the batter is spread evenly over the bottom
- Over the low heat, cook the crepe until the bottom is golden, about half a minute. With a spatula, turn the crepe and cook the other side until it is golden, another half minute. Remove the crepe from the pan and set it on a piece of wax paper so they won't stick together, until you have 12
Serving:
- Brush the inside of each crepe with the honey and mustard seeds mixture. Place some of the meat vegetable mixture in the center and roll crepe into a cylinder. Serve at once
